They are seeking to take command of a market they fear could one day supplant traditional tobacco.

In just the past few months British American Tobacco, Lorillard, Reynolds American, Altria and others have launched e-cigarettes, with a message that they can be smoked or “vaped” anywhere that regular cigarettes are banned or disdained.

“We see huge potential for this market, both domestically and globally,” said Richard Smith, spokesman for Reynolds American, parent of tobacco powerhouse RJ Reynolds and producer of the VUSE e-cigarette, which it recently introduced in Colorado to test the market.

“Adult tobacco consumers are making it known that they want convenient tobacco products they can use in a variety of settings, giving them the freedom to enjoy tobacco on their own terms,” he said.

Lorillard’s blu — a brand it bought for US$135 million in April — has stolen a march in the US market on competitors.

Altria, parent of Philip Morris, has test-launched its MarkTen in Indiana, and BAT kicked off the Vype across Britain in July.

Meanwhile NJOY, an independent with Silicon Valley and Hollywood startup capital, has also carved out significant market space.

Bonnie Herzog, an industry specialist at Wells Fargo Securities, forecasts US$2 billion in e-cigarette sales in the United States by the end of this year — two percent of the tobacco market — and US$10 billion by 2017.

“Consumption of e-cigs could surpass consumption of traditional cigs within the next decade,” she said.

Companies say the recognition level of e-cigarettes is already widespread in the United States and Europe. Some 37 percent of smokers in Europe have sampled them.

But the takeup rate is still low, and the big tobacco firms say their challenge is to figure out why.

“The experience is quite different than a cigarette,” said Des Naughton, managing director of Nicoventures, the BAT subsidiary behind Vype.

“The product and how it performs is quite different from a cigarette. Obviously there are people who try it and find it’s not for them.”

The products available are diverse: disposable and rechargeable, some designed to look like old-fashioned cigarettes and some striving to be different.

Some stick to traditional tobacco flavors while others, like blu, explore tastes like those in an ice cream parlor: “Cherry Crush,” “Java Jolt” or “Pina Colada.”

“The opportunity remains for companies like ourselves ... to understand the potential, the technology involved, and improve what’s on offer,” said Naughton.

You can smoke at a basketball game

Marketing too is still in infancy.

NJOY, in a pioneering television ad during the hugely watched Super Bowl championship in February, emphasized “the look, feel and flavor of the real thing.”

Naughton says the focus for BAT is still in enlightening consumers, persuading them to “give it a go.”